HOCKEY Coffs Coast’s Under 15 Girls have been triumphant in Orange winning a state title.

The Coffs Coast side won their division at the NSW Hockey Indoor State Championships at Orange.

The Under 15 Girls went undefeated on their way to winning the state title with 5 wins and a draw from their 6 matches.

The Hockey Coffs Coast side won the final beating Northern Sydney & Beaches 2-1.

Hockey Coffs Coast’s Under 15 boys team also had a successful tournament finishing third.

Assistant Coach of the Under 15 Girls team, Jonathan Williams said the Coffs Coast teams had done the region proud.

“Our teams can be incredibly proud of how they performed in Orange – particularly the boys who lost their star midfielder and coach midway through the tournament and still managed to finish third,” he said.

“The girls team ended up flooded in at Bathurst thanks to a late finish with the medal presentation.

“That turned out to be a bit of a bonus for some of them with an extra day off school.”

Williams gave a summary of his side’s run to the state title.

“The Coffs girls went into the tournament with high expectations and it didn’t take long for the team to settle into stride,” he said.

“They won their first game 8-1 over Northern Sydney & Beaches and followed that up with a 4-1 win over Orange.

“Those early results set the tone for the tournament and Coffs and with further wins over Sydney East and Bathurst and a draw with Wagga Combined, they eventually fought their way through to the final against Northern Sydney & Beaches.

“The final proved to be an extremely close affair with Northern Sydney & Beaches getting onto the scoreboard early.

“The half-time break seemed to settle the Coffs team and they went back out after half-time with renewed focus.

“The ball was moving nicely from the backline, into the mid-field and through to the strikers with a lot more purpose
and finally their hard work paid off with a well-constructed goal.

“As the clock ticked down and the scores locked at one-all, it looked like we were heading for a penalty shootout.

“Coffs Coast were awarded a penalty corner right on the buzzer which was duly converted, not without controversy, and the title was theirs.”

The Coffs Coast teams may have carved it up on the court but they were also recognised for their sportsmanship and contribution throughout the championships.

The Under 15 Girls team was awarded the ‘Respect for Officials’ award while Imogen Webb was recognised for her excellent umpiring.

In recognition of her performances, Eliza Berrick was selected into the NSW Under 15 Girls ‘Blues’ team to contest the national championships in Brisbane in January.

The Under 15 Boys team were similarly dominant in their early games with wins over Orange, Sydney East, Southern Highlands and Nepean.

An injury to key midfielder Levi Fischer midway through the tournament put the Coffs boys on the back foot with coach and player heading home for treatment.

The boys responded incredibly well and found their way into the semi-finals against Goulburn.

An unsettled start to the final saw Goulburn skip away to a 2-0 lead before Finn Robinson struck just before half time.

Goulburn jumped further ahead early in the second half but two late goals saw the Coffs boys set up a grandstand finish.

It wasn’t to be though and Goulburn went through to the final 5-4.

The Hockey Coffs Coast boys would eventually finish third.

The Coffs team were rewarded with Levi Fischer and Finn Robinson (FNC) being selected into the NSW U15 boys ‘Blues’ team.

By Aiden BURGESS